Opponents Of Medicaid Expansion Make Case

In response to a rally in Cheyenne on Thursday by supporters of expansion of the Medicaid program in Wyoming, opponents of expansion are explaining their position.

Christie Herrera of the Foundation For Government Accountability says Medicaid was designed to help poor people and children, adding those people remain covered by the program. She says the expansion would extend coverage to able bodied adults without kids. She says to expand Medicaid, $500 billion nationally is being cut from the Medicare program. She says that amounts to cutting healthcare " from the elderly and the sick and people who can't go out into the workforce".

Herrera calls Medicaid the "pacman of the budget" because it currently comprises about 15 percent of the budget and is projected to grow by about 8 percent per year.

Supporters of expanding the program argue that Governor Matt Mead's opposition to that is politically motivated, and that failing to expand would leave 17,000 state residents without health care.